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- Modern Dance Pioneer Ruth St. Denis, 1879
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Ruth St. Denis (January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was a modern dance pioneer, introducing eastern ideas into the art. She was co-founder of the American Denishawn School of Dance and the teacher of several notable performers.
Denis' dance career began with acrobatics, high kicking, ballet and acting. Later she moved to modern dance. After seeing an image of an Egyptian goddess with a cigarette, she became interested in Oriental forms and took to producing similar pieces, lacking in authenticity but extremely entertaining for the audience. Her early works are indicative of her interests in exotic mysticism and spirituality. She believed dance to be a spiritual expression. Her Radha was originally performed in 1909 to music from Delibes' opera Lakme. This piece was a celebration of the five senses and appealed to a contemporary fascination with the orient.
One of her more famous pupils was Martha Graham, who attended her school of dance, Denishawn, that she had started with her husband, Ted Shawn. Doris Humphrey, Evan Burrows Fontaine and Charles Weidman also studied at Denishawn, and Graham, Humphrey, Weidman and the future silent film star Louise Brooks all performed as dancers with the Denishawn company. Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn were also instrumental in creating the legendary dance festival, Jacob's Pillow.
In 1938 St. Denis founded Adelphi University's dance program, one of the first dance departments in an American university. It has since become a cornerstone of Adelphi's Department of Performing Arts.
For many years Denis taught dance at a studio in Hollywood, California, just north of the Hollywood Bowl. In 1963 she teamed with Raymond D. Bowman to bring the first full length Balinese Shadow Puppet play to the United States. The performance was held at her studio and lasted more than 8 hours.
Many companies currently include a collection of her signature solos in their repertoires, including the program, “The Art of the Solo,” a showcase of famous solos of modern dance pioneers. Several early St. Denis solos (including “Incense” and ”The Legend of the Peacock”) were presented on September 29, 2006, at the Baltimore Museum of Art. A centennial salute was scheduled with the revival premiere of St. Denis' "Radha," commissioned by Countess Anastasia Thamakis of Greece. The program's director, Mino Nicolas, has been instrumental in the revival of these key solos. She was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 1987.